Paradise Beguiles both the Foolhardy and Wise
by Adrift an Open Sky
Summary: After a near-death escape at sea, Kakashi wakes up rejuvenated on a beautiful island. Eagerly welcomed by a palace of women and exotic animals, he tries to make sense of the strange situation he has been thrust into. Sakura seems to be his sole guide, and he hopes to uncover the many secrets she hides...despite her obvious distaste for 'men like him', whatever that means.
1. Chapter 1

_**Our guest is always welcomed with open arms**_

Green flames licked at the air and water alike as the crashing waves poured over creaking wooden beams. Lightning lit the blazing waters, thunder rolling through the skies almost loud enough to muffle the screams of burning flesh.

Despite the open wounds littering his body, the heat seeping through and boiling his blood, the fumes drowning his lungs, he burst through debris as it scorched his skin, and dived into the freezing sea.

Churning waves threw his aching body around as he gasped helplessly for air, pushed against despite the loud protests of his arms and legs as they dragged, despite the sea purging his cuts and his choked breathes.

The last thing Kakashi saw before his vision blackened was bubbles, glinting green by the illuminated surface high above—jagged and unmerciful.

* * *

A group of young women stroll around the shore, baskets slowly filling with seaweed and shells. They are collecting to stock missing ingredients of their Lady's shelves. The shells will be grinded into fine powder and stored in vials, and the seaweed would be juiced and their remains dried out.

As they reach the middle of the beach, one of them spots the figure strewn across the sand, waves lapping at the remains of cloth on his body, and gestures wildly. Heads turn and a round of gasps and shrieks follow suit.

One woman immediately rushes forward and leans over him to check for a pulse. At the discovery, she gently picks him up into her arms, urges the others to make way, and runs.

* * *

The taste of grilled eggplant, warm and meaty and flecked with overtones of a fishy sauce, filled his tongue. A chewy yet fluid chunk pressed further against his lips and he eagerly opened his mouth. After slowly swirling the heavenly paste and savoring it best as he could, Kakashi opened his eye to be greeted by a curious pair, glinting green. Above is the surface, jagged and unmerciful… With a sharp intake of air he sat up, knocking foreheads in his frantic jump.

"Ow ow ow. Your head is as hard as a boulder!"

He blinked at her, dazed.

"And your's is as large as one…"

Her eyes went wide with a sound of angry protest. He noted the color of her hair: an exotic, pretty pink.

"Um, I didn't mean to offend. I'm…confused. And feeling strangely invigorated," he frowned.

"Well you should be. After all, you just had ambrosia."

"...ambrosia? The food of the gods? What do you mean, that's not possible."

"For a demigod, it is." Kakashi blinked at her.

She stared at him in response.

Eye narrowed, he plied, "again, what do you mean?"

Green eyes widened in understanding. "Do you not know of your divine heritage? The moment I touched you I sensed the ichor running strong in your veins." His eye traced her finger as it ran across the inside of his wrist, following blue veins under pale skin.

"My blood is not gold, but red like a mortal's. I have seen it enough times to assure you this is true," he protested.

"Only pure ichor runs gold. Demigods may seem to have mortal blood, but that is because we look on with the naked eye, which is a weak tool to rely on."

At the mention of looking around, Kakashi finally took in his surroundings. He had sensed the high ceiling and smelled the salty breeze from the large open archway, had felt the rays of golden light streaming through the patterned slits high above, carved at an angle to direct the natural light into the relatively gloomy room—but the actual sight was breathtaking. He had never seen walls so tall and looming nor patterns so intricately designed. He was in a palace.

"-senses cannot be trusted. You should know best, with the wisdom you inherited from your mother, that not all seeing is believing, and the eye can be quite deceiving—especially on the tiny levels of blood and tissue." Kakashi covered his scarred eye. He would know about the eye's deceit; when you lose one as he did, depth perception was no longer possible.

She smiled with pride. "I'm a medic, see. So I know things—maybe enough things to rival a child of Athena!" she jabbed at his chest with palpable disgust.

Kakashi's mind whirled. His mother...was Lady Athena?

That was too hard to believe, so he focused on the other worrying discovery: the only person who could possibly give him immediate answers on his whereabouts did not like the goddess—and she seemed firm in her belief that he was her offspring.

He laughed dismissively. "I'm sure you know more in the field of medicine than I do—I'm clueless. But, I really doubt I am, as you claim, a child of Lady Athena. On what basis did you infer my parentage?" cautiously, he gave her a confused, honestly curious look. He didn't mean to offend, and she understood, answering calmly.

"I would say the way you just spoke is enough a justification. But in truth, it was your eye that first struck me."

His brows furrowed and he touched his scarred lid, her eyes following the movement.

"My eye?"

"The color of your good eye. When I was nursing you back to health, you would wake and mutter nothings while staring at me, too tired to make sense of anything. I noticed the color; albeit a dark shade, they are the characteristic grey of Athena."

Kakashi tilted his head to the side, "That's all?"

"Of course not. My father had grey eyes and I'm as far as is possible from a descendant of Athena."

"Ah."

She sighed. "I was with the group who found you on the shore. I immediately picked you up and ran to the palace's healing room," she gestured to the walls, "and began the process." She took his hand and placed her other, palm up, in his grasp. A tingling sensation spread from the center of his palm. He raised an eyebrow.

"Look," she explained, and then her hand glowed blue-green. His eyes widened and he made to pull away but she kept a firm hold. "It's my healing magic. It comes from my connection to the purifying waters of springs molded into running rivers, clearing all that is stagnant and turning life fertile. I can heal your wounds and soothe fatigued organs. That's how I restored your dehydrated body to full capacity—at least, it's partially how I did so." She pressed the back of her hand further against his palm.

"I also gave you tiny sips of nectar and bites of ambrosia—with extreme caution." She flipped her hand so that her palm pressed against his.

"When I first took to using my magic, you were startled awake before falling back into unconsciousness. It was then that I realized your eye color." A sharp sting interjected the steady tingling and he hissed. A few seconds later the smooth, soothing sensation returned.

"That, however, is what really told me of your heritage. It was slighter than it should be, but you rejected the magic because it is water-based, and children of Athena tend to stay away from Lord Poseidon's domain. However, your body was quick to accept the healing again, albeit at a lower intensity. And that's why I dealt with you carefully." Kakashi watched as the blue-green light steadily brightened.

"For a week now I've been tending to you, slowly stabilising your organs and replenishing your body. Afterall, you were at sea for so long; I could tell exactly how long from a thorough check…" She stared at him with wide eyes.

"It's a wonder you're alive! I mean, demigods are more resilient than mortals, but it's still a stretch to survive the open sea unconscious for three months!"

Kakashi's mouth dropped open. His throat went dry.

"Three months?...that's impossible."

"You're right. You might have been protected by an immortal who luckily favors your survival...but that would be difficult as the vast waters are not their domain. Or, you might have been protected, your body preserved and nourished, by Lord Poseidon himself—who reigns over these seas. Improbable, but possible; you were also strangely receptive to water healing magic."

Kakashi remembered his childhood home, the large statue of Lord Poseidon at the altar by the entrance, always kept in pristine shape and given frivolous offerings. It had been a routine since birth, to care for and offer the god food in the fire every meal, a routine he carried on even after his father's death. He always thought it was a weird necessity—they were not fishermen; farmers should devote themselves more to Lady Demeter, no?—but as the years went by, he continued with his prayers, and they had become a necessity with his new life at sea...Kakashi was a pirate, of sorts. The entirety of his crew would regularly provide offerings to Lord Poseidon, praying for their ship's safe passage as they ventured through the darkest waters.

He told her such, and her eyes lit up. A bright smile turned into hearty laughter.

"A son of Athena praying to Lord Poseidon all his life?! Your father was very clever! Of course, that's no surprise—he attracted the wisdom goddess's attention."

Her lips pressed into a line and she turned her gaze to him sheepishly. "I was too harsh towards you. Even a man like you deserves reasonable judgement before you're given your inevitable sentence. But that's not my choice, unfortunately." She gave him a sad smile, and his stomach churned.

"What is your name, oh weary one?" she implored sweetly. Her voice was enchanting when it took on such a soft tone. He found himself answering just as softly.

"Kakashi. Hatake Kakashi."

"Hatake? From a farming family!" giggles sounded from behind him, and he turned to see a group of girls peering from curtains at the far end of the room. A now familiar hand caressed his cheek and gently turned his head towards her. He sank into her gaze, watery green eyes bright yet filled with soft sorrow.

"I'm Sakura. Haruno Sakura, born on the cusp of spring." He focused on her hair, falling in a soft wave across her shoulders and down to her hips, a pretty, blossoming pink like flowers budding with the arrival of the fertile season.

Noticing his gaze, she leaned forward until her long locks brushed against his arms, and pooled into his lap, pressing warm lips to his forehead.

"Welcome to Lady Circe's palace...of Paradise Island," she announced against his skin.

The intoxicating scent of fresh green, of blooming fields and trickling creeks overwhelmed his senses, and Kakashi's eye fluttered closed. Sakura slowly pulled away and he sighed, only for his brows to ever slightly furrow at the melancholy deep in her features. Behind him, polite claps trinkled across bubbling giggles, and in a daze, Kakashi smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Our guest is never tempted away from our welcome**_

He was dragged by a mass of wandering hands and a cocktail of floral scents. Through hallways framed by giant Corinthian columns, Kakashi was pushed and pulled, all the while unable to do anything except stare in baffled wonder at the gargantuan dimensions of the palace.

Large spaces, with a few lounging chairs scattered about, but relatively empty and pointless save for the echo they provided.

Looming doorways for rooms with walls, perfectly spaced columns for the open rooms, all brought in the golden rays of the late afternoon. Their beams crossed the floors in illuminated patterns and the air in shiny particles of dust.

At the end of such a space was a floor of cushions and soft drapes centered around an extravagant and inviting lounging chair.

Kakashi was abruptly turned around and pushed backwards into the plush cushioning, and then giggling arms pulled his torso back to lie his head across a different kind of softness.

He looked up as a curtain of pink lowered around him, and then gentle fingers caressed his scar and swept his eyelid closed.

"Rest, brave warrior, and we will gift you with song and fruit," she whispered.

A lyre began to play a tune, soft and lighthearted. Her hands slowly weaved through his hair. The atmosphere was so serene, the tranquility washing over his mind in a sweet haze, and tempting him into deep sleep. Although he had been at rest for so long, his body was almost completely at the mercy of this strange fatigue. It felt almost...bittersweet.

His body jerked up. The head above him moved just in time to avoid a collision, and hands immediately pressed down on his shoulders, but found resistance in his now tense posture. With a bumpy laugh, she pushed harder and he, surprisingly, found himself shoved down into her lap once more. "You have a bad habit of jumping around, I see," she gave a thin-lipped smile. A round of giggles. "What troubles, you, brave warrior?" He was forced to look up at glowering green eyes beneath pink eyebrows pulled into what could be a look of concern. He was not impressed.

He slid out of her hold and sat up, moving to stand in front of her. The crowd at her feet parted for him and then were quick to circle around them.

"I am no brave warrior."

Her brows raised. The lyre stopped.

"Why would you say such a thing to a fellowship congregating to celebrate you?" She swept her hand in a wide circle, her garment slipping down her shoulder. "We readily attend to soothe your tired soul. The experiences of battle are carved into your flesh and trapped within your eye. There is no point denying them; they are there for all to see."

"I have experienced battle, that is true. But I am no warrior fighting for a clear and just cause. I have taken more lives than I have saved. Innocent have perished at my hands," he held out his hands palms up for all to see, and every pair of eyes traced from his rough fingers up his calluses and across lined forearms to sculpted shoulders. The girls began to whisper among themselves. Some crept backwards.

Sensing the rising tension and fear, Sakura gave a lengthy, melodic laugh. It was intriguing, how a laugh so brazen and abrupt could sound so charming and sincere. All heads swiveled towards her. She finished with a wide smile, and a sweeping gaze that seemed to hypnotize the girls to smile with her. When it landed on him, he felt struck by the urge to reciprocate. His lips twitched.

"Our guest is plagued by the guilt of his past feats. A sign of integrity and honorable consciousness. He is more compassionate than most men."

She gestured with her hand, beckoning, "where is the fruit? Ah, it's arrived. Someone go back and fetch a bowl of pomegranate. Hatake Kakashi deserves such a princely delicacy; every red seed was hard to pluck from the fruit's innards, and he is all the more deserving of the effort put into that harvest, don't you all think?"

Hums and nods of approval. Three girls immediately stood and tripped over themselves running out of the room. "Ah, I only asked for one person to go… oh well," she clasped her hands. "Why don't I hear music?" The lyre picked up its tune.

Kakashi frowned, looking back at Sakura. She stared at him expectantly, and patted at her thighs in invitation.

He stepped towards her, and kneeled. She gasped in surprise, and the lyre stopped once again.

"Sakura Haruno, nymph born on the cusp of spring, I thank you for all of your unearthly hospitality. I thank you for healing my dying body and tending to me until I gained back my health." He looked up and caught her gaze. "I thank you for doing so despite your clear mistrust and dislike of me. I do not in any way fault you for this judgement; it is one rightly judged." His eye creased at her shocked, wide green eyes. He bowed his head once more.

"But, alas, I ask that your generous attending to my needs end here."

He stood and straightened his posture.

Sakura quickly closed her gaping mouth and spluttered, "will you not even have some fruit? The grapes are ready over here, and I assure you Dionysus himself has blessed them." She pointed her glare at the poor girl bearing the platter of vines, and she jumped to attention, pushing her arms forward and dropping several grapes to the floor. One rolled to Kakashi's feet and he picked it up, squeezing it gently between his fingers.

"These are the juiciest and most ripe I've ever seen," he proclaimed. Sakura relaxed. "Well, a farmer would surely appreciate our harvest," a voice in the crowd commented.

The grape popped and the juice ran down his fingers. "They are very much too perfect to be real," he stated.

He narrowed his eyes. "A mortal's harvest would never bear such a fruit. I'm afraid I am not worthy enough for the food you so kindly present." Another deep bow. "I thank you once again, though now I will be on my way." He gave a tight smile.

Sakura felt her panic finally rip loose. She got up and grabbed his arm in a tight grip. Kakashi furrowed his brows at her strength, and she immediately loosened her hold, instead caressing his skin.

"What will you eat then, if you leave? Surely you will starve on a strange island all on your own!" She pushed.

Eyebrows raised, his tone rang with annoyance. "I will hunt, obviously."

"With no weapons?"

"I make my own weapons. And traps."

"Ah, you make them. Of course. But...but what of water?! We're surrounded by sea: undrinkable."

"I know how to locate a source of freshwater. From what I could see through these windows, the land is beaming with vegetation, some that need streams of pure waters to survive."

Her grip slackened.

"...Yes of course. It is easy to tell from the lush greenery."

He nodded and pulled away. Her hand slipped off with no resistance, and her arm fell back to her side.

As he turned and walked to the window, she fisted her silken garment.

"My Lady, he is walking away."

"Yes, I can see that. I do have eyes."

"My Lady, what do we do?"

Kakashi slipped into the opening, balanced on the windowsill, and jumped.

With gasps and cries of shock, the girls rushed to peer out. Sakura walked back and fell into the softness of the lounging chair, lying across its length with a sigh.

"Where did he go?!"

"I think I saw him run into the forest!"

"Yes, that's right, the bushes over there were moving, it must have been him!"

"He's just so fast!"

Sakura covered her face with her arm as it dangled limply across its perch. He was quite different from the rest; it wouldn't do to stick to her usually quickly-to-succeed routine. No; this time, it would require a tremendous amount of coaxing and careful, well-planned trickery. They were dealing with a spawn of Athena after all-she should have been smarter about it.

She bit at her lip.

"Lady Sakura?" a gentle voice pleaded.

She lifted her arm and smiled at the crowd sat before her.

"Do not worry for our guest, he only needs some convincing. We'll let him run loose for a while, and then he'll come back to us in no time at all, curiosity sated." She smirked. "Put your trust in my words and as always, you'll lament my wisdom in private but sing your praises to our Lady." She stretched her legs and wiggled her toes.

* * *

After covering enough distance to be considered safely away, Kakashi stood still and listened. Among the chirping and crickets was the clear trickle of a running stream. He followed the sound downhill, leaving the hill upon which the palace stood.

The trickle now echoed loudly against the trunks of tall pines on either side of him. He would secure a water source before nightfall, and its rushing sounds assured him it was clean and pure enough to quench his thirst. Beyond the thorny bushes right in front, he would arrive, surely…

He hit a solid wall and fell back, but was quick to recapture his balance and avoid a nasty trip.

He stood and clutched his forehead, staring straight out in bewilderment.

'_...What?'_

'_Did I imagine that?'_

He extended his arm and felt his palm press against an icy surface. Between his fingers, he saw the stream twinkle in the fading daylight just ahead.

His other hand lifted and with all his might, he pushed.

To no avail.

* * *

Sakura watched the sun sink into cold depths, and dark purples swallowed the last of the orange glow. The breeze, once refreshingly cool, now chilled her bones.

The girls would go to sleep soon, and yet Kakashi had not showed up. They grew fidgety, hanging about her and expectant. She had promised them after all, and they trusted her judgement wholeheartedly. Still, they were growing impatient.

She turned from the windowsill. "Go to bed, all of you. He will be here when you wake."

They nodded, bidding their goodnights, and once the last of them was gone Sakura grabbed a shawl and made her way to the entrance, and then down the grand stairs.

'_If he is smart, he would be at the shore.'_

She found him sat on the sand as the waves lapped at his feet. He did not move as she approached and stood beside him.

"The barrier's magic extends across the sea."

He shivered, clothes soaked.

"I see you've found that out yourself. How thorough."

"I ran around the palace. Followed along the unseeable wall across the forest, looped around to the shore. It is impenetrable, even from underground."

His nails were filled with dirt and his fingers were red and scraped raw.

"You dug with your hands?"

He pressed his palms into the sand.

"And sticks."

He remained gazing out at the sea, now a black cloak reaching up and entangling with the skies, the horizon separating them indiscernible.

The wind picked up and pushed at the waters more violently. He was abruptly drenched in a sudden wave.

Sakura peeled her shawl off her shoulders and wrapped him within its warmth. He clutched at the fabric.

"Come back with me to the palace. It's well-heated." She reached out her hand.

He finally looked up at her, and she was expecting sadness and defeat but instead… a hard, determined look caught her in his gaze. "Will I find my answers?" He took her hand in a firm clasp, and stood, towering over her.

She looked back at the palace, lit by the torches decorating its grand stairs, looming high above the dark forest as it waved in worship within the wind.

"Maybe."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Are you truly really our guest?**_

* * *

Kakashi followed Sakura across Tamarisk trees rooted in the sand, past tall, gangly Pines and finally to a clear-trodden path surrounded by a dense thicket.

They were silent in their passage, save for the crunch of her sandals and his bare feet amidst the hooting of owls and the screeching of crickets.

It wasn't until they reached the very base of the palace's hill that Kakashi allowed himself to break the tranquil quiet they had agreed to share.

"How did the architects manage to build these stairs? They must span a width greater than the whole length of the Colossus of Rhodes!"

They stared up at the winding steps that appeared to reach the night sky, gleaming under the silver light of the moon and stars.

Decorating the sides of the stairs were figures, shaped as all sorts of animals-some so exotic he could only barely name them from stories he had heard. They had been carved into lounging positions, and the flickering orange glow of the torches cast their strange shadows across the towering marble expanse.

"It is not the work of mortals," Sakura answered.

The wind howled, pressing against them, and as his body was raked in shivers he stared at the long hair floating around her head, a pink halo of tangled strands dancing in the air.

"Nothing here was forged by a mortal's touch, then. The whole island teems of your Lady's magic." He began to ascend the steps.

Sakura followed by his side, quick to match his pace. "This is the island of Aeaea. A barrier has been erected around us, but it is an island all the same: a strip of land within the vast domain of Lord Poseidon."

"Yes, but it is an island covered in exotic flora and great, ancient olives and pines and trees I have never seen before, despite my many travels. The vegetation itself seems magical, the fruit it bears perfect and lustrous. I think the island in its entirety is a Paradise."

Sakura smiled smugly, "It is."

"But…"

She frowned, eyes narrowed, "...but?"

"No such Paradise should exist; pure perfection is but a fantasy...I am here at a cost. A pricey one."

Sakura stopped. Kakashi followed suit, turning her way, and met her eyes with a piercing gaze.

"Am I wrong?" he implored.

She turned her head and glared at the torch light, then the sea, then the moon, until finally she forced herself to meet his eye. With a twitchy smile, she answered, "maybe."

Kakashi scoffed. Sakura frowned. He then chuckled, and her frown deepened.

"I apologize for making your job so difficult. It is obvious that my ignorance is vital to the task given to you by your Lady." Her jaw set.

"But I was promised some answers," he continued.

"That was another _maybe _, remember?" she let out through clenched teeth.

"Ah, right. Well then, if you don't want to tell me anything, would you be willing to at least show me around the place in which I am being held captive? Until your Lady comes and deals with me of course."

"You're too persistent," Sakura muttered.

"I would also like to help out the attendants of the household that welcomed me with open arms. It is the least I can do-I owe them for their hospitality."

"You're too strange!" Sakura spat out.

"I would especially like to thank _you _, any way that you wish, for healing my body the entire past week. Your kindness is something I can't just accept-I need to repay your generosity. What do you suggest I do for you?"

A sharp sting blossomed across his cheek, and Kakashi froze, eye wide and mouth hanging in disbelief.

"What is _wrong_ with you?! You're given _Paradise_, a palace full of beautiful women and bountiful harvest, and instead you _deny yourself _and _offer_ _to help me_-ARE YOU NOT A MAN?!"

She spat at his feet.

Kakashi turned his head back towards her but remained frozen and gaping.

She laughed, "no; I know what you're playing at."

His eye narrowed.

"I don't know why I didn't realise it before: you're the type that _waits _to be seduced. Instead of taking what's in front of you, you prefer the _patience game _, the tease." She chuckled, a bitter, cracking sound.

"I have to say we haven't had any man who resisted temptation for as long as you have-and you did a good job, pulling us to the edge." She clasped her hands. "You had me worried, and _very _frustrated. I still am," her lips twisted into a coy smile, "but I've figured you out."

She took a step towards him.

He took one back, carefully lowering himself onto the stair below.

The cold breeze tickled his raw cheek, and he finally found his voice.

"I don't think you have."

She loomed above him with twinkling green eyes and a curtain of pink swaying against the starry sky.

"No?"

Her hands curled delicately around his neck, her fingers, soft and light, sifted up through his hair.

Kakashi pulled at her wrists and lowered her hands to rest between them, firm in his hold.

"No." His eye looked up at hers strong and steady.

Sakura stared back.

The wind picked up once more.

She picked up the flying strands whipping at her face and pushed her hair behind her ears, turning her back towards him.

She looked up at the shining moon, full and heavy, and then sighed.

"You're a fool."

His brows furrowed. "I don-"

"Follow me to your room. I'll give you a tour of the palace grounds first thing after sunrise."

* * *

They finally took refuge from the gusts of wind, but the entrance was unlit, and the farther Sakura pulled him, the farther into darkness they plunged. Kakashi kept his eye squinted at the ground in fear of tripping over her feet.

The hallway with its double layer of great columns was a welcome sight, the spaces in between allowing moonlight to bathe the floor in a silver shine. He kept his eye trained on the silvery-pink of her hair, and his hand clutched at the shawl that had come undone within the howling gale outside.

Past a grand hall with high walls and high windows, into a smaller, less-lit chamber, and then finally to a stop.

As they stepped into pitch-black, Sakura bent down, picked something up, then walked confidently into the darkness.

Suddenly he could see her again. The lit fire-pit bathed the room in warmth. She sat in the klismos chair at the corner and put the oil lamp down at her feet.

"The oil is enchanted; it will keep the fire going throughout the cold."

Kakashi walked to the flames and warmed his hands. "Thank you." Water dripped from his frame onto the sizzling embers.

Sakura stood. "You're still drenched."

From the chest beside the bed, she gave him a wool blanket.

"For the night's cold."

She then handed him a chiton.

"For the morning. Give the drenched one to me and I'll hang it by my fire."

Sakura peeled the drooping shawl of his shoulders, and then began to pull at the straps on his shoulders.

He jumped back, cheeks aflame. "Oh, that's fine, I'll just rest it by the fire here," he chuckled.

"I dressed you when you were unconscious. No need for modesty now," she responded, a small laugh passing her lips, unbidden.

"Ah."

He turned nonetheless before stripping off the wet cloth clinging to his skin.

Sakura's gaze travelled along his back, across hard muscles carved with a few scars, dipping down to settle on the firm curve nestled above strong thighs. He stretched, the defined length of his body tightening and then relaxing with his movement. She bit at her lip.

He wrapped the blanket around him and turned, handing her the dripping garment. "Thank you."

She took it, refusing to meet his eye.

"I'll be expecting you in the morning," he affirmed.

Sakura nodded. "I'll wake you when I'm ready for the tour. You have my word."

She stepped back and turned to the door. She could hear the creak of a wooden frame as he laid down on the bed.

"I'm sorry I slapped you. You were honest and undeserving." She waited with bated breath.

He smiled. "You are unnaturally strong; it was quite a shock. A little scary, too."

Sakura laughed. "My strength is part of my nature."

She leaned against the doorway and stared out through the gaps between the columns in front.

"I would think a nymph to be more dainty and refined."

She smiled at the horizon, camouflaged within the blackness of the night.

"A nymph of the seas would be as restless and as fierce as its waves, no?"

He sat up.

"You're a Nereid?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

Sakura turned to him. "Why so surprised? A Nereid is a nymph, albeit of the salt waters."

He pointed at her. "You do not seem like you've come from the sea."

She played with her pink strands, frowning. "It's the hair, isn't it?"

"I guess it is, but it's also your scent?"

She blinked. "My _scent _?"

"You smell like flowers."

"Oh. That's the perfumes we bathe in."

He shook his head. "But when you kissed me, I felt like spring-I saw green, fertile lands," he argued.

She tilted her head. "That's sweet."

His eyes widened. "I was simply being truthful, I didn't mean-"

"I know. You imagined fresh waters, running rivers, right?"

"Exactly."

"Well, that's because I am a Naiad, too."

He stared at her. "I've never heard of such a thing...both Nereid and Naiad? It shouldn't be possible."

She hummed. "I'm a rare sight to behold."

Blue-green eyes twinkled playfully, shining bright and lively and beautiful.

Kakashi was reminded of the stories shared among villagers, sailors, and all mortal beings, really: stories of alluring maidens whose spirits sprang from the splendors of Nature herself. He couldn't help but think that Sakura put all those stories to shame.

She was mesmerizing, and alarmingly so.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Here. To quench your curiosity, our dearest**** guest.**_

* * *

The stars still sprinkled the night in silver light when the maidens of Aeaea rose from their plush beds.

First, they wrapped themselves in colorful shawls and headed out to the hot springs.

Along a hidden path they passed their vigil, parting the eerie almost-morning mist and soft dew. They unraveled the binds of their hair and twisted their locks free, then once the water's volcanic heat seeped into their pores, slid out of their chitons and slipped into the pool.

Sponges and bottled scents were taken out of the tiny cave behind the waterfall and passed around. After scraping their skin clean and pure with mineral waters they lathered themselves in perfume and finally relaxed.

Every day they would wake too early precisely for this. An hour would pass as they lounged deeper beneath the surface, draping across the banks and rocks and pausing underneath the heavy stream of the waterfall as it pounded at their backs, soothed their joints and pressed against tight flesh.

They would normally make small talk. They would chatter about the harvest, the Lady's whereabouts and orders, their scheduled chores, or about the rare gossip someone swore by the Styx they heard trickling through the water, or passed down by a dryad who swore by Lord Pan she heard it carried through the wind.

Today, of course, Sakura was overwhelmed. Instead of the usual calm prattle was zestful and exuberant dialogue. Aimed at her. Swarming around her.

She sank her head underneath the steaming waters and drowned out the noise with the crashing of the waterfall above her. She could stay beneath the surface for as long as she liked, and she intended to remain within the peaceful warmth until the girls picked themselves up and left for their chores.

But she was grabbed, pulled out and swept towards the rock at the very center of their pool.

"Lady Sakura, there's no use trying to avoid us," a giggle.

"Lady Sakura, you owe us!"

"Yes-we stayed up late waiting, you know?"

"I was really anxious. My body was tired from the harvest and yet my mind wouldn't rest. Do you not feel guilty for making us worry?"

"Now tell us of the man!"

Perched on the rock with the girls circled beneath her, she dutifully sated their curiosity. And all the while as they prodded for more and more, her hair was untangled and brushed into a complex braid. They even went so far as to massage her feet.

* * *

Pink strands whipped out of their binds and across her face as Sakura landed, toes sinking into wet sand. The morning waves lapped at her feet, and the faintest rays of light peeked out of their cold depths, illuminating the horizon. Her sweat-soaked skin glistened in the orange glow.

Sakura stepped into the cold sea and relaxed her body, fatigued from exercise. The salt water soothed her muscles almost immediately, and so she was quick to get out and slip-on her chiton after uncovering the cloth from its unintended burial beneath the demolished sands. Sandals strapped on, she broke into a sprint.

Before the sun had fully risen, Sakura was at Kakashi's side and shaking him awake.

"I've done as I promised," she stated. "Now perhaps you can trust me more readily."

He lifted the blanket tightly wound around his nudity and dressed into his new chiton. Sakura placed the old one, now dry from a night hanging by her fire, into the chest, and took out sandals to place at his feet.

Kakashi peered out through the open door at the brightening sky, its very top still a deep blue within night's tendrils.

"Thank you for keeping true to your word, Lady Sakura."

Pink eyebrows shot up. "_Lady _Sakura?"

Grey eyebrows furrowed, the scar bisecting one wrinkling with the movement. "Is that not your name?"

She was quick to reassure him. "I did not lie to you about my name, don't think me so lowly."

"Names _do_ hold power-I would not be surprised."

"Well I'm a mere nymph of waters, not a heavenly deity named for power. I do not even achieve the title of Lady. That goes to our mistress, Lady Circe."

"They were all calling you by Lady Sakura," he plied.

"I am their senior in experience and abilities but not much else," she admitted. "You however, hold the title of dear, cherished guest of Lady Circe, from the very moment the waves pushed you onto our shores."

"And what usually happens to Lady Circe's dear, cherished guests?"

"Lady Circe attends to their needs, gifts them with our dance and song, and throws them a grand and luxurious dinner."

"And where is your Lady Circe?"

Sakura frowned, gazing out at a horizon blue and clear beneath the morning sky. "She is coming."

Kakashi followed her line of sight and stared out at the sea, tranquil and glimmering in the morning light. He could almost hear the lazy waves lapping at the shore, and he longed for the sound of the waters that had been his home for many years now.

"Anyhow, let us begin our tours." Sakura stepped into the hallway, and after buckling his sandals, Kakashi was quick to follow.

* * *

She showed him all the rooms the palace had to offer. There were many.

A room for weaving, draped in tapestry.

A room for dance and song, large and empty save for a few chests and cushioned seats.

A kitchen.

A storage room for food.

A room with a mill to make olive oil.

A courtyard.

Personal rooms for the girls.

The exteriors of a chain of Lady Circe's rooms, enchanted to keep them out.

The impressive dining hall.

Then they moved out to see the gardens, walking past the main entrance and to the grand staircase, and Kakashi had the shock of his life.

Feeling confident by the familiarity of his surroundings, Kakashi had passed Sakura and was planning on descending the steps ahead of her...

..only to come to an abrupt halt, jump backwards and trip into her. He scrambled behind her, then quickly grabbed her hand and ran back inside, pulling her along in his frantic rush.

"What-"

She stopped at the panicked look in his eye, and yet he covered her mouth in his hand.

"I need a torch. Fire. I can scare it off with the flame," he whispered, pulling his hand back.

Sakura burst into laughter. Kakashi's face morphed into a look of absolute disbelief and dread.

"You intend to get us killed." He turned, grabbed the nearest stool and broke its leg off.

Kakashi charged out with the hastily-fashioned stake.

"Kakashi no!" Sakura ran and pulled him, roughly jerking the wood from his grasp.

Now, Kakashi saw something new. The black panther lounging across the steps was not alone.

Foxes, lions, tigers, jaguars, wolves, cheetahs, hyenas, bears. Various birds as well. Draped across the staircase's middle and edges and to its sides, they all lifted their heads towards him.

His heart dropped to his feet and chained him there to stand frozen.

'_How and why are there so many strange creatures staring at me right now? Surely the gods have taken pity on me and decided to end my cruel journey here and now.'_

And then Sakura was _petting the panther's head_, and loud purring echoed against the towering columned walls.

"These beasts are our pets. Do not be afraid of them," she ran her hand along the panther's silken black coat.

"And do not harm them either, please. They are Lady Circe's cherished creatures. Tamed beasts."

At once the memory of him and Sakura, last night on these very steps, filled his mind. He remembered the regal, carved features of exotic animals...and realized they were not carved sculptures at all.

"Do they sleep out here at night?"

Sakura smiled. "Yes. Like guardians of the palace's entrance, I suppose. Lady Circe always says that."

An owl flew past and perched on her shoulder. She giggled. "They're eager to see us. It's feeding time soon; the girls will be coming to get them."

Sakura bent down to the fox that came to sit at her feet.

The owl fully rotated its head towards him.

All the while as she moved to pet and stroke fur, its wide eyes remained trained on him, and an odd heaviness weighed at his chest.

Sakura stood and turned towards him. "This owl seems interested in you. You're new, so your scent must seem strange to them."

The owl continued to stare incessantly.

"Ah! Your mother!" she exclaimed.

Kakashi frowned, "what?"

"The owl is Athena's bird after all. Of course-he must be trying to talk to you!"

His brows raised. "Talk to me?"

"Well children of Poseidon talk to all creatures of our sea, so it's only obvious the owl is encouraging you to communicate with him."

Kakashi's eye narrowed.

"Come on, try to speak to him," her green eyes shone.

Kakashi drew his lips into a thin line, and sighed. "Fine."

He looked into the owl's eyes.

"Hello, owl. What is it that you want to say?"

Sakura burst into laughter. Kakashi's cheeks flushed red.

"I was joking obviously. Athena's offspring possess no such ability." A sly smile pulled at her pretty features.

He glared at the owl still staring at him.

'_Beware,' _a voice echoed.

And now his mind was playing tricks on him too, it seemed. How delightful.

As Kakashi descended the steps, now fearless among the beasts rising around them, he flicked at Sakura's nose.

"Hey!"


	5. Chapter 5

_**Our guest is quite the eccentric one**_

* * *

The gardens were being tended to when they arrived, and a vast variety of vegetables and herbs flourished at the girls' hands.

They stepped into the main garden.

Green and thriving and perfectly healthy, seasonal crops grew outside their seasons. The rich soil teemed with fertility, enchanted to nurture godly produce.

Another smaller garden was dedicated to oil seed plants, from linseed to sesame to poppy.

Beyond these gardens were small orchards of fig, almond, apple, and pear trees.

And surrounding these was a beautiful olive orchard.

As they walked through, Kakashi marveled at the ancient trees. The trunks were huge and twisted in such complex, strange ways, each tree uniquely patterned. Despite their great antiquity they appeared to be preparing to bear fruit, and at a ready rate. Kakashi was sure that the end of summer would bring a bountiful olive harvest.

A group of girls split off to feed the animals, another to care for the small group of sheep and goats they kept on the other side of the hill, and another to work on the preparation of cheese. Sakura dragged Kakashi to the kitchen storage where they each had a chunk of barley bread soaked in wine, and then a sweet fig. Afterwards, they set out on a path in the forest.

They arrived at the waterfall, tendrils of steam curling across its pool. Kakashi followed Sakura to the rocky wall, and stood there watching as she climbed along the rocks and then slid through the waterfall to what must be a cave, hidden on the other side of its watery wall. And then to his great surprise, she emerged onto the ledge of rock outside completely dry.

"Your clothes!" his voice echoed against the crashing waters.

"Yes?" she called back.

"And your hair!"

She grabbed at what was left of her unraveling braid. "What?" she exclaimed.

"Well, they're dry!"

She blinked, and nodded. "Yes."

Kakashi narrowed his eye and huffed. "Why am I still so shocked by the unnatural? This island lies thick in magic, and yet I seem to forget so easily," he exclaimed.

Sakura smirked. "Well as a nymph of the waters, I can choose not to let my element affect my appearance, and so I keep dry when I wish to. It's not Lady Circe's magic that's at play."

"Huh." Silver eyebrows rose.

"What else can you do?" he continued. "I know now that you can heal, you hold unnatural strength, and you can keep dry. I'm sure you can breathe underwater, too."

Her smirk grew wider, but she did not answer. Instead, she threw him a sponge.

"Time to bathe. I'm sure your skin is bothered by the salt stuck in your pores for so long."

She turned to re-enter the cave.

"I'm used to it," Kakashi murmured. He slipped out of his chiton, laid it on a rock off the soil, and dove into the pool.

The water was hot and soothing against his skin. He emerged only to dive underwater once more, swimming towards the waterfall.

Beneath the surface the crashing waters were muted, and all seemed calm. But lifting his head out, his ears were immediately assaulted by the heavy weight of falling water as it pounded at his back.

The pressure was soothing and undeniable therapeutic— tension he did not know had been coiled in every muscle unraveled all at once and made way to a seeping warmth that settled deep in his bones, and bathed his skin with a deep flush of healthy, flowing blood.

Kakashi couldn't stop the deep moan that escaped his lips.

"It's godly, is it not? The girls and I bathe in these steaming waters every morning."

Sakura plopped down in front of him, chiton floating around her lithe figure.

Kakashi glanced up to the ledge she had jumped down from. It was quite high.

"I can see why you stick with Lady Circe on this island, now. I would too if I could relax in pools as blessed as the very Isles of the Blessed."

He stretched and turned his arms this way and that underneath the falling waters, making sure their touch reached every stretch of skin and lump of muscle on his body. Sakura hummed in agreement and stepped in beside him, hunching her shoulders and rubbing at her neck as she got her own massage.

A glass vial was pushed into his hand. "Here, it's the least-floral scent I could find," Sakura explained.

Slightly unscrewing the cork, he sniffed at the liquid. A strong aroma of pine with a tiny hint of rosemary.

He was hit with a sudden wave of nostalgia as he was reminded of his childhood home. It sat secluded within a small forest of pines that separated the house from the fields, with only rosemary bushes lining the path that cut through. The plant miraculously grew from soil covered in pine-needles and the absolute shade of dense canopies. As a young boy, whenever he would follow his father to the fields, Kakashi would pause to breathe in the wonderful fragrance. Some time after his father died, however, the rosemary stopped growing.

"Well?"

He blinked at her. "Thank you, it smells wonderful."

Sakura smiled smugly. "We're quite talented at mixing scents, I must say."

Kakashi swirled the golden fluid. The combination it constituted was quite unique...strangely specific. A thought struck him.

"Does this contain ambrosia, or um, nectar of some kind?" It was golden and reflected his tastes perfectly.

Pink brows furrowed. "You assume we waste divine meals on the synthesis of perfumes?" She laughed. "Our Lady Circe would murder us."

"Oh."

He stared out at the forest, tall and looming beyond the shifting tendrils of steam.

"You grow rosemary?"

"Of course. We have a whole bunch rooted near the end of the river—very near the banks of the estuary."

Kakashi smiled. "That's nice. I know how to make a delicious dish, marinating chicken in olive oil and rosemary."

Sakura gaped at him. "You cook?!"

"Of course." He smirked at her from the corner of his eye.

Her jaw remained dropped in pure disbelief. This man prepared meals himself? Did he not have a wife waiting for him back home? Or maybe he was a warrior for so long and since so young an age that he had not settled down yet? But then he would at least have others to cook for him in the barracks, or camps, or wherever his troup stayed. She knew that was the case—she was sure of it, actually. Their previous guests had been fighters too, and they had told her about their lives in depth.

She did not believe him.

Kakashi looked up and was quick to close his eye underneath the merciless water. "Ah, but it's been too long since I've had chicken of any kind. Her meat is a delicacy I'm not privileged enough for."

It was Sakura's turn to smirk. They would prepare a chicken-based meal almost every fortnight, and when they did have a guest over, that meal was coupled with a variety of meats almost every night. He would be pleasantly surprised at dinner.

Sakura rose and pressed herself back into the rocky wall, lifting her face towards the stream falling from above.

It was definitely strange seeing her standing there all dry-it almost felt like his eye was deceiving him. But then it served a good reminder of where he was, and what a situation he was in...trapped like a caged animal with his strength most probably waning from months of neglect.

That, he could work on.

"What are you doing?!" Sakura exclaimed, craning her neck up to peer at him.

"Climbing the waterfall, obviously."

"But why? Take my word for it, you won't find anything up there. In fact, I'm quite certain following the river upstream for a few minutes you'll hit the barrier."

Kakashi laughed. "I know, I know. I'm just climbing up and down the rocks, that's all."

Sakura tilted her head. "To exercise your arms?"

"To exercise my arms. Build back what I lost adrift at sea."

Her eyes roamed up his glistening figure, pausing for longer than she would admit just above the toned stretch of his thighs, and then up his back to hone in on shifting shoulders and straining muscle as he lifted himself higher.

"I told you before, your body was preserved while at sea. Can you not see that?"

"Sorry, what?! I can't hear you; the water is quite loud!"

Sakura huffed and sank back underneath, keeping only her eyes and forehead above the surface.

She would watch him from here- simply to make sure he wasn't up to something, of course.

* * *

Much later, when his muscles were beginning to feel the fatigue seep through, and his skin was thoroughly steamed and scraped clean, Kakashi dressed and followed Sakura back to the palace.

They passed by the animals, still lounging around but mostly napping after their morning meals. They were very lazy and inactive, for wild creatures. Their natural, feral temperaments seemed to have completely left their heads. Instead, to his great surprise, the exotic beasts were more domesticated than the most obedient of household pets.

Sakura swept up the staircase and into the great entrance without a second glance at them, and Kakashi had to remind himself again that yes, she had been living with them for however long a time, and of course, she was used to their bizarre appearances.

He hurried to catch up with her and they carried on through wide corridors, a few vast and empty rooms, and then finally arrived at the kitchen.

The cheeses where almost finished, and Sakura and Kakashi had a few previously prepared slices with some oil-slicked olives and their respective cups of wine.

Just as they were about to leave the room, a new group of girls scurried in and immediately picked up pots and pans and doughs and began the preparation of dinner.

Kakashi paused.

"Sakura?"

She halted and turned towards him.

"Do we have any chores to carry out at the moment?"

He could hear giggles behind him, and to his surprise, a few snickers mocking him.

_Had he done something wrong?_

Sakura tilted her head, and in the blink of his eye an expression of pure bewilderment was plastered onto her face. She fluttered her lashes innocently, and furrowed her brows softly.

He was reminded of an actor's mask in a drama. He used to accompany Minato to the theatre quite often to watch them, back when he was young.

"How would you respond to our guest's inquiry, girls?" her voice lilted.

His eye trailed back to the group of girls, now bundled together and whispering behind flour-covered hands.

They hushed and smiled at him, eyes twinkling with amusement.

"What chores would our guest think to speak of?"

"Why would our guest have such a thing as chores?"

A full-blown laugh resounded from somewhere within the mass and it was answered with glares and shushes.

_So strange. Like a flock of sheep commandeered by their shepherdess. _He turned to Sakura.

_Who also specializes as quite the actress. _

Kakashi answered with a deep laugh of his own. They looked pleased at his retort.

"Well if that's not the case then I was wondering if I could work with you on a rosemary di-"

Sakura clamped her hand over his mouth and pecked his cheek.

"Ah, I just remembered we urgently have somewhere to be at. Carry on with dinner, girls!"

She dragged him out with a tight grasp on his arm.

"Sakura?"

She stopped when they were at the courtyard, and turned to face him. A tight-lipped smile spread across her features.

"Don't take it personally, see. They would have taken it the wrong way, offering to prepare a meal. We wouldn't want that." He nodded.

"Maybe another time, then. When the kitchen's clear."

Sakura huffed.


	6. Chapter 6

_**I take our guest past it all and further**_

* * *

The courtyard was filled with blooming lavender and rose. On the wonderfully soft, green grass, linen sheets and netted baskets were spread out wide, and on their surface piles of seeds, flowers, herbs and weeds were drying out and baking under the crisp sun.

Kakashi even spotted clumps of seaweed.

Sakura caught him staring and answered his quiet curiosity.

"Our Lady Circe needs a vast variety of plants for her concoctions. Some ingredients require more intensive preparation."

She picked at a clump of black seeds. "Some of them, though, are for my own medicinal experimentation."

Sakura crushed a few seeds into fine powder with the tip of her finger. "These are done." She covered the pile with the corner of the linen beneath it.

They walked through the garden with minimal pauses, Sakura checking on the moisture of the herbs here and there. All the while Kakashi silently observed the many species so foreign to him in utter fascination.

With soil blessed by fertile magic, anything can grow. Even the most fantastical plant could take root, and bud and bloom into a flower so strange it transcended human imagination.

The works of divinities created a world so far-fetched and extravagant it seemed like the one true Paradise, although he knew that what painted itself as a paradise slick with perfection was always only but a mirage…

_There is fault in everything—even in the gods. _

_Afterall, it was these faults that gave rise to humankind and all its atrocities. _

_The gods' prides, greeds, lusts, and jealousies, these human demeanors, are faults—fatalities._

Kakashi was sure that this Lady Circe, in all her divinity, was the same.

And so, looking around at the Paradise before him, he could feel a creeping bitterness, a seeping sense of disgust with the false illusion of it all.

_The Lady, of divine power and most probably immortal, strives for an extravagant perfection. _

_Like all divine beings, she suffers from hubris—a pride deeply engraved in their beings, one that pushes them to seek an overwhelming and unnecessary amount of luxury and worship. In this way they reassure themselves that they are above all others. _

Kakashi looked up at the skies, grey clouds gathered over a sun that shone bright and clear just a few moments ago.

_I am not one to judge, but over my many years and experiences I have seen the ragged flaws in the gods' rulings. _

He chuckled.

_In no way do I try to do anything to change that, though. _

_No, I live with it. I move under this ruling and I abide by its demands. _

_Mortal warriors are tasked with the duty to protect, fight for, and preserve the gods' honor. By carrying out this duty, they are revered by the masses as 'heroes'. _

_I am one such mortal. But I am a fighter, not a warrior or hero. We do the dirty work, and that is the end of our story. _

They neared the opposite end of the luscious courtyard, Sakura humming with a basket of dried plants, and Kakashi snapped himself out of his musings with one last whispering thought.

_I did once know someone who was eager and ready to prove himself to the gods—prove himself a hero whose ideals would be listened to and adopted. _

He sighed.

_But that was a long, long time ago. We were young and unexposed to the true horrors of tragedy. _

* * *

"So, where is this place that we 'urgently have to be at'—as I recall you saying?"

Sakura turned and raised her eyebrows.

"That was an excuse to get out of the near-mess _you_ created, and _you_ obviously are aware of that."

He let out a chuckle. "Alright, I'll admit to that. But I remain curious about where we are headed to."

"Somewhere new," Sakura retorted.

Kakashi's eye widened. "And here I was thinking our hours-long tour already covered it all. Are the palace grounds really so big?"

Sakura nodded slowly, a far-off look in her eyes. "Our Lady Circe's palace is remarkable, and as grand as her skillset."

_So grand even I haven't walked all its hidden passages,_ she added silently.

They were nearing the outskirts of the palace grounds, walking on the eastern wing's long outdoor corridor, where its frame of towering columns were the only thing standing between them and the forest beyond.

They reached the end of the passage and stepped down onto the grassy hill. In the distance he heard the herd of sheep he had seen around this same area on his morning tour, and in the wide trees off to his side he saw a few goats munching greedily on leafy branches.

Sakura lead him along the walls until they reached a boulder obstructing their path.

"We've arrived."

Kakashi scanned the surroundings. Grass, trees, and a few weeds were all he could see.

"Alright?" he answered skeptically.

"Move to the side a bit."

He took a few steps away and peered out, as if the new viewpoint would suddenly reveal what he was looking to see.

Behind him, Sakura placed her hands on the boulder leaning against the wall, and heaved. Kakashi whirled around and stared in wonder.

With a heavy crackle, the rock was shoved aside, and an open archway was revealed. Sakura dusted her hands and marched inside.

Kakashi stepped in after her.

The musky scent of a cave overwhelmed his nose. Sakura lit an oil lamp with the torch burning by the entrance, and began the path through the narrow tunnel, gesturing for him to follow suite.

As they made their way, passing a crossroadwhere more tunnels dug deeper into the earth, Kakashi began to hear strange noises. As they neared the source, the sounds became more distinguishable as squeals. They echoed through the passage, and soon enough the noise became deafening.

The tunnel opened up to a cavern, and Kakashi was temporarily blinded by the extreme change of light as it filtered into the tunnel they stood in. A hole in the middle of the ceiling brought in bright rays of sunshine, bathing the darkness in an ethereal glow. Beneath the yellow light was a sea of pink.

As his sight adjusted, he finally made sense of the scene.

Dozens of pigs lounged around within an enclosure. Some huddled together, others rolled around in the dirt, and more just lounged about on the few black rocks scattered about, basking in the warm sun. Kakashi watched as three pigs crept around a lone sleeping one and began shoving with their snouts and biting at the stump of a tail, squealing threateningly. They bullied the pig off its warm perch on a black rock and sent it running for its life, cowering in a corner with pathetic whines. Kakashi noticed thick scars upon its hide.

He raised his brows. _Quite violent for livestock. Pigs can get rather aggressive, but to leave such scars?_

He turned to Sakura, and found her staring out at the animals with an indecipherable expression. At most he could claim it was a look of strange worry, and perhaps, fear.

Yes, an intense fear.

He cleared his throat. She didn't blink.

"Sakura."

She whipped her head towards him, and he was immediately caught off guard by the look in her eyes.

They were wide and watery.

His own eye widened in response.

In a flash she had turned the other way, hiding her face from him. Sakura quickly rubbed and wiped at her eyes.

"Sorry, the musk of the cave causes me to get stuffy." She sniffed for added effect.

Kakashi hummed, willing to accept the excuse for her. She was clearly agitated, and he did not want to pry.

She marched on to the other side of the chamber, and stood near a large, pottery bowl. "Anytime now, the girls will be ready," her voice echoed.

Kakashi watched from the corridor as the pigs staggered to stand and raced towards the very edge of the fence where Sakura stood. They squealed and jumped and tossed their snouts into the air.

As if on cue, a loud noise, like clay clinking against rock, filtered through the grunts and squeals.

From a hole he hadn't noticed above the bowl, a stream of color slid out of the rock. The peels and remains of vegetables and fruits piled high in the large bowl, and Sakura lifted it up as if it were weightless. The squealing got louder, the excitement at its highest, as Sakura swung back and threw the contents of the bowl across the herd.

They in turn threw themselves onto each other trying to reach the food as it fell between squirming pink hides and sank under trampling hooves.

A few pigs stayed back from the chaotic crowd and lingered at a safe distance. They sniffled at the ground, finding the random chunk thrown-off from the mess and gobbling it up hungrily.

One of the pigs approached the mass with slow, quiet caution. As soon as it reached the very outer ring of squirming bodies, however, it was shoved aside, and—to his surprise—a group of pigs broke their meals and stepped away to push the poor weakling all the way back to the other side of the cave.

Then, like starving animals, they rushed back to their food and resumed their greedy eating.

"That one's stuck in constant torment. The others bully him to the breaking point."

She set the bowl back underneath the hole.

"But he gets the few scraps he really needs. All the others just overeat."

The clinking of clay against rock resounded once again, and the swine gathered around Sakura in a clambered rush. More food would be sent down the shute, and they squealed in anticipation.

Kakashi stepped forward and into sight under the cavern's direct light. "Sakura, let me help you."

All at once the chamber went silent. For a moment every pair of beady eyes stared at him, unmoving. And then like a wave of pink the swine stammered back and bunched themselves against the far wall.

A pig with half its left ear missing immediately stepped forward, vomited, and threw its body in a heap at the corner.

Kakashi looked to Sakura in bewilderment.

Her lips were pursed, brows raised. "Well, he's one of the smarter ones. Feigning sickness, you see?"

The pig rolled onto its back, legs sticking up-right.

_To that extent?_ he wondered.

"The moment they all saw me I frightened them so much that they completely forgot about their precious meal," Kakashi stated. "I'm guessing they think I'm here to slaughter?"

Fruits and vegetables began to stream down and pile high in the bowl.

Sakura played with her hands. "Well, they don't exactly take a liking to men, although they are all males themselves."

She bit her lip and stared at him, gaze firm and deep. Sakura let her eyes linger long on his one, silently screaming.

Kakashi looked at the pigs, cowering against the rock.

_They must keep the females separate to prevent the boars from mating them, _he noted.

"And yes."

He turned back to her, and Sakura continued, "one look at you and they feared they'd be our new guest's dinner."

Sakura's lips pulled into a strange smile. Despite her efforts he could tell it lacked emotion, and her eyes were dull and void of the humor she insinuated.

Again he felt his gaze pulled towards the fearful swine. They stared back at him with woeful whines.

Kakashi crossed the chamber, past Sakura and towards the bowl. He lifted it and hauled its contents onto the enclosure's empty floor.

"Perhaps when I leave they'll get back to eating," his eye creased into a soft smile.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, they are endlessly gluttonous."

"Where to next?" Kakashi asked.

They exited back through the tunnel, and with a quick glance behind him Kakashi saw once more a crowd of swine gorging themselves to the brim with food, no other care in the world.

* * *

Dinner was a fascinating affair. Kakashi had never tasted food more delicious.

The room had high ceilings, with elaborate tapestries and decorated torches lining the walls. A long table took up the center, and when they arrived the feast was already spread out across its surface.

What surprised him the most was that instead of fish, they had a juicy chicken, and he was struck by the fact that he had forgotten the taste of the tender bird after all those years out at sea. When he discerned the undeniable tang of rosemary, he met Sakura's twinkling eyes and gave her a gentle smile.

Cheese, eggs, olives, bread, and a variety of vegetables were served. A few girls came in to pour wine.

When he asked why they were not joining them, Sakura told him not to think of it and that they were eating privately.

"But there is so much on these plates...surely they could take their share from here?"

"They prepared this meal for their esteemed guest. It is all yours to enjoy."

At her stubbornness he only frowned and had enough of his share.

After all the food, fruits were passed around. Shiny, perfectly ripe and drizzled with honey for added sweetness. He was pleasantly full by then and so only took one fig. Sakura watched him silently, her bowl of fruit in hand.

"How was your meal?"

"The best I've had, and more than I could ever dream of."

She nodded with a satisfied smile.

"I do hope the great excess remaining does not go to waste. The feast looks almost untouched," Kakashi added.

Sakura's eyes flickered towards the table. _Yes, it does look untouched. Too much was left uneaten. _

_If I didn't know any better, I would think he did not find the cooking adequate enough for his enjoyment._

She glanced back at him.

_But this man is a unique one. It's not that he didn't find it delicious...it's the fact that it was too delicious, and too much. He's not keen on such overzealous luxuries._

Her heart panged, and she frowned.

It would not do to hold so much hope. The loss to come would undeniably sting much more viciously if she held onto such a fantasy as hope...hope that it would somehow be different this time.

After all, Paradise beguiles not only the foolhardy, but also the wise.

Fate herself writes it so.

"Yes, of course I'll take care of the food. Again, do not worry." She rose from her seat, fruit bowl now empty, and gestured to him.

"Now, we retire for the night. Tomorrow is another day of relaxation and quiet enjoyment, starting with the morning's bath at the waterfall. When would you like me to wake you?"

Kakashi stood.

"Can we start the day earlier this time, before the first light if possible?" he inquired.

"Earlier?" Sakura looked up, two fingers tapping at her lips. "I suppose I could wake you just a while before, when the sky is in between dark and light."

"Ah, not more than that?"

She shook her head with a small smile. "Our guest needs proper rest, after all."

Kakashi hummed. "You're right. The fatigue is starting to set in my bones; I suppose my body is still unused to a full day of wakefulness."

Sakura nodded. "You must understand the importance of rest at such a time. And as your healer, I encourage it!" She began to walk into the outdoor hallway, and he followed in pensive silence.

_I know for a fact that they rise from their sleep quite early, to prepare themselves for the day's chores._

Kakashi thought back to the steaming waterfall.

_Sakura told me they all bathe in the pool. The water is very hot; they would have no qualms about bathing in the freezing pre-dawn air. _

He narrowed his eye.

_I doubt they take shifts, some going and some staying. From what it seems like, I'd wager they all leave to bathe together. _

Unconsciously, his gaze trailed to the black horizon, extending beyond the row of columns, and— truly—he could smell the salty tang of the sea. Determination sat hard and heavy in his chest.

_Tomorrow I'll be woken up just that bit earlier, but it'll get me adjusted. The day after, I'll be well-rested enough to wake _myself_ up at a much earlier hour. And then I'll have ample time to sneak around, and I'll make sure they are unaware._


	7. Chapter 7

_**And our guest answers in kind, does he not?**_

* * *

True to her word, Sakura woke him up when birds were heard chirping but the sky was still full of stars.

It was a beautiful time of day. As he followed her through the hallway, Kakashi watched the horizon change from an inky, jet black to a glimmering deep blue, stroked with the gold sheen of the slowly rising sun.

When he bathed in the steamy pool, he watched the glowing sunrise reach its peak from behind sheets of crashing waters. The waterfall distorted the morning light in the most beautiful of ways.

When he fully stepped out onto the rocky bank, a beet-red Sakura quickly averted her wandering eyes. But Kakashi passed her without noticing, his gaze too transfixed on the horizon to pay any regard to his surroundings.

Somewhere beyond that line which divided sea from sky, his ship was sailing, his crew onboard her deck and his captain steering her great sails as the eye painted onto her bow guided their safe passage.

He would be among them as soon as is possible.

As Kakashi slipped into his chiton and tied his sandals, Sakura watched his contained expression.

Although his features were smoothed out enough that she could not quite tell what he was thinking, she could see that he was wide awake and fully alert within the early morning breeze.

He seemed ready enough to charge into sudden battle with the vigor of a practiced soldier. Still charged with the adrenaline of her pre-dawn training session, she herself was feeling energized, so much so that she almost jumped to climb the waterfall on impulse alone.

"You didn't climb today. Were you so convinced by my one compliment to your physique that you now no longer need to train?"

Kakashi finished lacing his sandals and turned to her.

"Actually, I was hoping to join the day's field work. I didn't want to risk being too late to join you all and missing out, so I opted not to climb the waterfall."

"Oh." She frowned.

"So, what do you say? Can we head there?"

Sakura stared at him for a few moments.

"Fine," she relented, and began to walk down the path.

Kakashi smiled. "I knew you would come around. You must see the benefits in having me help out. It will get the chore done so much more quickly."

Pink eyebrows rose. "While I'm sure you're a strong warrior, I'd suggest not to think of yourself as so much stronger than we. You would be surprised by my strength."

Kakashi did not argue with that; he could definitely sense she held greater power than what the onlooker would guess her lithe body could possibly hold. And although the prospect seemed just a little scary, he would have liked to spar against such a promising and unknown power.

He imagined it would be a welcomed challenge, trying to gauge the strength of a partner whose physique deceived his perception.

"Ah yes, I would not doubt your strength. In fact it would be a great honor to spar with you as a partner," Kakashi answered.

Sakura scowled. She seemed to think he was making fun of her.

"You would be _surprised _if I honored you with the chance to spar against me. I assure you, you would take back your mockery in an instant."

She hastened her pace and he had to take long strides to catch up to her.

"Sakura, I truly wish you would take me more seriously. I would love to spar with you."

She hummed with disbelief.

"I have enough experience to tell; you seem to have the quick wit needed for battle. And on top of that, I _know_ you hold an unnatural strength—if you remember, you slapped me using that unfair power."

Sakura abruptly stopped and turned her face away, embarrassment tainting her skin red. "I apologized for that," she murmured.

Kakashi walked ahead, a sneaky smile flickering across his features.

* * *

When they arrived, the girls had just started picking at the herbs in their small garden.

Upon seeing them, they waved gaily and smiled at him shyly.

"Our guest will be joining us today," Sakura announced.

They looked abashed, questioning his presence.

"It is what he wishes, and we do as our guest wishes, do we not?" Sakura affirmed.

They looked away immediately, pleased enough.

Sakura took him to the mint plants and began to explain what it was he should do, but Kakashi surprised her as he knelt and got to work before she could finish her demonstration. Rough hands wound around the plant's stem and tended to the mint with gentle yet swift movements.

A head of silver stared up at her, his lone eye twinkling. "I grew up a farmer, did I not tell you?"

He lifted her arm, opened her hand, and pressed perfect leaves into her palm.

"For the pink-haired apothecary, the leaves to serve a well-working medicinal tea," he said, eyes creased.

Sakura smiled. "And I'll be taking them, thank you." She swept them into a leather pouch which she tucked into her roped belt.

They made quick work of the mint, then headed to the sage, thyme, dill and sideritis. At every new plant Kakashi would keep some herbs aside, and instead of putting them into the basket he would press them into Sakura's palm. She in turn would accept them with a sly smile and sneak them into her pouch.

After the herbs they joined the girls as they tended to the vegetables, and then finally moved onto the fruit trees.

"And here I am, my entire life believing pomegranate to be a fruit of cooler days. Yet before me, a sight to question my years' experience!" Kakashi admired the tree in front of them as it heaved with the heavy, ripe red fruit. The mass of the pomegranates made the branches drape almost to touch the ground.

"I am aware of the magic enlaced within your produce," he weighed one fruit in his hand, "but still. I know I look like a fool in my continued wonder—I just can't help but be baffled every time."

A few girls around them giggled. Sakura seemed as amused, but spoke: "we do not hold your wonder against you. This is not a sight a mortal would be used to."

"But it is yours, our esteemed guest, to get used to!" One of the girls chimed in.

Sakura seemed caught off-guard for a split-second, before she answered, "yes. This all," she swept her arms around them, "is yours to wonder at, from the moment you were cast on to our shores."

"And forevermore!" Another girl exclaimed.

A smile, cheery yet tight-lipped, spread its way across Sakura's face as she nodded at the girl.

Kakashi stepped in. "Ah, but I still can't imagine ever getting used to this! I wonder, how long did it take _you_ to get used to it?" _'My prodding should shed light onto some speculations.'_

"It took me a whole four seasons!"

"It took me two of those!"

"I'd say two seasons."

"Three seasons!"

"One! Only!"

Sakura raised her eyebrows at the girls' exclamations.

Not wanting to be bested by them, she tuned in: "I would say it took me three weeks to get used to the sight. Yet even now, six years later, I might find myself gaping in wonder."

'_And there we have it_,' Kakashi thought to himself.

"Such is the greatness of our Lady Circe!" someone agreed.

The girls nodded.

'_They were all brought here, somehow. Sakura has been here for six years...quite a lot of time to form attachments to 'her Lady Circe'. But…' _

He looked at Sakura, letting his eye roam her form.

'_Based on what I can guess her age to be, six years ago, she wouldn't have been too young to think with a mind of her own._'

Sakura plucked a pomegranate and Kakashi followed suite.

'_Six years ago, she would have come to this island mature enough to have a preconceived, sturdy image of the world. Her Lady Circe's brainwashing should not have made a big-enough impact to delude her sense of self_.'

Kakashi smiled to himself.

'_The way she carries herself around me—and around the girls as well, in fact. It's proof enough. She is very unique in her demeanour, not at all a demure servant-girl._'

They moved on to the next tree.

'_That is a more brilliant sign than any. It means she _does_ think to herself, with herself.' _

One of the girls dropped a pomegranate and it split against a rock, staining her clothes and skin with red juice. The girls laughed and mocked her, and the poor girl stared down at the mess in horror before joining into the laughter herself.

But a stern glare from Sakura shut them up.

'_Yes...not at all demure,_' Kakashi stifled a laugh.

As they moved on to the fig trees, Kakashi continued in his silent contemplations.

'_Now. All of them seem to have come here some time ago, and have been adopted into this Circe's cultish doctrine. How did they arrive at the island? I doubt they washed ashore like I did. How do I get it out of them?'_

"What, is this simple labor too much for you to handle? You've been quiet for a while now, it's unsightly," Sakura whispered to him as she crossed his path.

Kakashi turned to her. "You think so lowly of your guest? After being told I was a brave warrior— I take offense!" he joked.

The girls stared at them, and Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why does our guest say such a thing? I was merely complimenting his admirable physique! Such lithe muscle on a man— it's only befitting of a brave warrior!" Sakura addressed the confused girls.

She then made a show of trailing her hand up his arm and resting her palm against the muscle of his shoulder.

The girls were rather content with the display, if their sighs and giggles said anything.

Once they turned back to their chores, Sakura let her fingers trace up to the nape of his neck, and Kakashi had to relent to the goosebumps that followed her path. He turned to shoot her a questioning stare only to gasp as she pinched his skin.

Sakura looked pleased at his displeasure.

"You _are_ our esteemed guest," she spoke discreetly, "but I_ allowed_ you to join in this chore to do as you please without handling you much as a guest." She gave him a pointed look, green eyes sparkling. "I'd expect at least some level of respect as your payment for my lenience."

She pushed a pink strand behind her ear, and continued on, matter-of-factly, "nothing comes for free. Even generosity."

"Ah, but weren't the herbs I gave you payment enough?"

Sakura furrowed her brows. '_Did I read him wrong?_ ' she questioned herself.

"I am joking."

She raised her brows. '_Is he?_'

"_That_, was out of the generosity of my heart. All-free," he chuckled.

Sakura smiled mockingly. "Ah yes, it was not as though you were trying to win my favor so as to flatter me into compliance."

She took great pride in the slight twitch of his brow that betrayed his shock. And so she continued with a smirk, "trying to pry answers out of me so sneakily? No, not at all the case—you are too dull to think of such a clever trick."

She strode to the next tree. Kakashi watched her leave.

'_Am I that rusty to be so easily read?' _he admonished himself.

'_Either way I'm impressed. But she did not seem too upset— she left me to talk with the girls without stopping me. She even answered my question herself, providing me with quite the insight...is it too naive of me to believe her some sort of ally?_'

Kakashi didn't need to pause a millisecond before answering himself.

'_It is definitely too naive._'

He finished with the tree and carried on to the next, joining Sakura's side.

'_She has a quick mind. She has been in the service of her idolized Lady for _six years_. She is cunning, and most probably trying to deceive me with a false alliance. I should use this and pretend to be played into her game._'

Out of the edge of his vision Kakashi stared at Sakura.

She was stretching her arm, balanced on a rock and straining on her tiptoes to reach a ripe fig mere centimeters away from her fingertips. Sunlight filtering through the leaves stained her skin a golden hue, and caught her pink locks in a fiery gleam.

Kakashi turned and pulled the branch down until her hand plucked the fruit. She craned her neck towards him and was met with a great smile stretched upon his shadowed face.

She gave a glowing grin in response.

* * *

_I intend to get another chapter out soon enough! No more months-long waits (hopefully)._


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: __Some things happened that made my creative muse suffer; it became a struggle to try and write without being plagued by doubt and fear. But after some effort it seems to be back! I'm aiming to post another chapter within a week :)_

* * *

_**Our guest is quite talkative, in a curious way**_

* * *

"Have one," a soft voice spoke behind him.

Kakashi turned to see a basket of figs raised to his face. Three girls stood behind, smiling shyly, eyes flickering between him and Sakura expectantly.

"Thank you." He grabbed one as Sakura stepped up beside him, reaching for her own and nodding at the girls in approval.

The red insides were perfectly sweet and melted in his mouth. Kakashi had to suppress the urge to moan.

When he looked her way, he saw Sakura had already finished with hers, and was sucking at the remains of the fruit's cover with a fervor. He stifled a laugh and she narrowed her eyes at him, cheeks warm with embarrassment. His eyes crinkled.

Sakura huffed and looked away. She stubbornly continued sucking at the fig— its sweetness was a delicacy she would never tire of, and she would indulge in the fruit no matter what.

After throwing the cover away she slipped a finger, then another, into her mouth, sucking at the sticky sugar that remained.

At the sight of her tongue darting out between glossy lips, Kakashi broke out of his stupor and quickly glanced away, turning red himself.

'_Let's make use of the time to prod some more, _' Kakashi told himself.

"You have such a delicious and bountiful harvest," he stated, "and I have seen mountains of fig already stored near the kitchens."

The girls turned to him and nodded.

"What do you do with all this excess fruit? Surely, you would not let it go to waste. Is it sold somewhere, traded for? Such perfect harvest would bring in boatloads of drachma— it's a divine meal fit to be sold to kings!"

The girls grinned. One spoke up. "Well, sometimes, we trade them in thanks."

"Trade them in thanks to whom?"

"The Trader. He comes by from time to time. Our Lady Circe lets him, because she likes some things in his cargo."

"Oh? I wonder what sort of magnificent cargo this trader carries, for it to catch your Lady's eye— it must be absolutely bewitching!" Kakashi exclaimed.

The girls giggled and nodded.

Sakura rolled her eyes and, thankfully, let him carry on with his investigation.

"The Trader brings our Lady Circe many things, and they are all bewitching! I remember one gold necklace— it was laced with jewels of every color in the rainbow!"

"I don't remember that one!" "Well I do, you were just not on the island yet."

Sakura cut in. "I've seen Lady Circe carry from The Trader delicate ointments, chests of jewelry and I assume spice, and beautiful, beautiful dresses. Mostly peplos garments. She has them designed and tailored to her tastes."

'_Nothing very specific about that. Spice, what kind of spice? If only I could take a look, I'd have plenty of clues on their origins. But they're locked away in the enchantress's rooms…what about-'_

"This merchant, what does he look like?"

Sakura raised her brows. _'Ah, that was too blunt. I'm letting my guard down speaking to them; they're just so merry and eager to please…'_

"We don't know. We never see him."

"Ah. None of you?" He looked directly at Sakura. She shook her head.

'_They won't happen to know how this trader mysteriously appears at their island, then. What a shame.'_

Kakashi hummed. ' _Well, I can't see the objects, but they have. If I ask about certain distinguishable material…'_

'_A woman who basks herself in perfection and extravagance. She must dress with the same air.'_

He turned to Sakura. "These beautiful dresses...do they happen to be purple?"

Her eyes went wide.

"Yes. Every one of them."

He smiled, smirking internally. _ 'There we have it.'_

Sakura watched him, unable to suppress her admiration and intrigue. "How did you guess their color?"

"Well, all across the sea and in lands even farther out, purple is a color of wealth, power— what your Lady Circe seems to embody. And purple dye is procured from a specific sea-faring people, who are known to be quite the merchants."

Sakura furrowed her brows. "Purple dye alone can tell you as much?"

"Yes. The color is a very rare one, Tyrian purple, and it is extracted from one source only: the Murex shells on the coasts of Phoenician waters. If the dresses are customly designed, their merchant would be in direct contact with their source, and have good relations with the textile handlers."

He pressed a finger to his lips. "Your trader, I bet, is a merchant who hails from the Phoenician port city of Tyre, center of trade, and home of the Murex shell. I've heard there's a whole hill of empty shells somewhere around there, near Sidon."

"A hill? Of shells? That's crazy!" A girl exclaimed.

Sakura was caught in memory. The name 'Tyre' had her think back to her time with her old mentor at her estuary, to her childhood home at the river's banks. She remembered one of the merchants who would often pass by her mentor— a large, boisterous man who claimed to travel far and wide. He would mention Tyre frequently in his tales.

Sakura spoke up. "I've heard of Tyre. Do they have cedarwood there?"

Kakashi gave her a smile. "They do. Their ports trade cedar."

Sakura grinned to herself. _'That sounds promising. If The Trader is Phoenician as Kakashi claims, that would be a perfect way to barter for the wood...if ever my dream should become reality.'_

"You know a lot," Sakura praised.

"I know a lot because I sailed the seas. The most diverse people communicate across the waters, and so knowledge spreads wide and well."

"True."

Satisfied with the information gathered, Kakashi went back to harvesting the trees. Sakura joined his side.

* * *

Hours later, they finished with the last orchard, and made their way back to the palace.

After Kakashi's insistence, Sakura once again relented and allowed him to join in with the kitchen's cheese-making.

The entire time, Kakashi chatted with the girls and 'sneakily' added in questions, while Sakura watched on, exasperated, but indulging in his inquiries, and answering a few questions herself.

And the entire time, ever so discreetly, Kakashi observed her watching him, trying to gauge what exactly her intentions were, because her continuous assistance of his probing the girls for information was, frankly, confusing.

He had thought she was trying to fool him into believing she was on his side, ready to help him, and then take advantage of the deception when it came time to cut him down. He had planned to deceive her himself, on this assumption.

But if she was truly trying to trick him...why go to such an extent? He would understand lulling him into a false sense of camaraderie by granting him some of the knowledge he craved. But she was truly giving him useful information. And quite freely...he wasn't targeting her with his questions, and she participated anyway.

Yet when he had been trying to pry things out of her directly, she vehemently refused and redirected their conversation.

What was she gaining out of this? She was contradicting herself.

'_She is either playing this so cleverly that I can't possibly understand her motives, or, she truly is acting as an ally of some sort.'_

'_The information she readily lets slip doesn't seem to be false...I've thought on our discussions, and if anything she spoke to me with an air of curiosity, not lies.'_

'_Come to think of it: when I pry for answers, she pries back, somehow. Yes, curiosity...she seems eager to figure me out. What I'm thinking, how I'm thinking. Doing some reconnaissance herself, I see.'_

Kakashi looked at Sakura and smiled. She raised her brow at him, seafoam eyes narrowed.

'_Taking advantage of me looking for answers, by looking for answers yourself? Clever. It would be difficult for your questions to be paid any notice of, this way. I'm distracted searching, and answer you in kind, like some sort of instinctual trade, a payback of information.'_

Kakashi narrowed his eye back at her, cocking a brow, smile spreading further.

Sakura huffed at him and turned away. He watched her give directions to the girls.

'_Now...is your information gathering a personal affair? Or is it for your Lady Circe, and ultimately, against me?'_

Sakura peeked at him from over her shoulder, met his gaze, and held it. Then she slightly raised her chin in challenge.

'_I can't tell. As of now, I truly can't say for certain.'_

* * *

Dinner was yet again a grand and glamorous ordeal, the table streaked with dishes, delicious but excessive, and stocked with meats.

Kakashi took his share and thanked them for the spread, commenting once again on its unnecessary lavishness.

He was one man after all. Unless they were willing to join him on the table, as he recurrently requested.

But they looked too appalled at the mere mention of such a notion, and all but ran out of the huge hall once they had poured wine and passed all the meal's servings.

Kakashi sighed. "How odd."

Sakura chuckled. "I'd say you're the odd one, _dear guest _. Asking serving girls to sit and eat with you? Unheard of. If I were any other woman and didn't understand your request, I'd even call it scandalous."

"Ah yes, because inviting them to share this huge meal means I'm asking for an orgy, right?"

Sakura was grateful she had already swallowed down her wine, because she surely would have choked. She wasn't expecting that from him, so it was alright that some wine spilled and stained the white cloth—she was caught off-guard and understandably so.

She lifted her gaze to his. "I wouldn't even blame them for understanding it like that. How often has it been requested by our guests? I've lost count."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't act so surprised. What would you expect? When offered Paradise, ordinary men convince themselves they are divine kings. They are suddenly entitled to the whole world!" She giggled, and all of a sudden, for the first time in his stay on the island, Kakashi felt a sliver of fear creep up his spine.

Sakura stopped herself with a scoff. Then, she fixed him with a stern stare. "Meanwhile, you've been so well-behaved, it's kind of pathetic."

And then, as if she couldn't act any stranger, Kakashi watched her saunter up to him, trail a finger up his arm and then lift his chin, curling her other hand around his scarred cheek. He stared blankly up at her with his lone eye. Green eyes sparkled as she smiled softly, and spoke loudly, clearly and so sweetly, "Come. The air is cool and nice at this time, and perfect after your feast."

He let her guide him out of the hall.

The girls, who had been peeking into the hall and watching them the whole while, relaxed, pleased, and retired to bed after cleaning up the table.

* * *

The night sky was clear, not a single grey cloud blocking the moon and stars' silver light. Sakura had him sit on a pile of soft furs covering the marble floor, and then took a seat beside him, leaning back onto the column behind.

They lapsed into silence, the mood having shifted the moment they left the great hall with its wandering eyes.

Kakashi studied Sakura's profile, her expression indiscernible. Then he let his eye fall to her posture, how both her legs extended straight out in front of her, how her arms crossed and held each other at the elbows,how her long hair pooled across the fur around her, and how she stared out at the vast, shining skies.

He saw a careful sorrow in the way she held herself, like that.

He sighed and looked out to the skies himself.

Kakashi smelled the salty breeze, faint on this side of the palace, but there. The moonlight glistened across the dark sea, and illuminated the waters just enough that he could differentiate horizon from sky.

He lifted his eye to the stars. There, the Polaris shone bright. He recognized the Orion constellation, then the Eridanus, then—

Kakashi sat up abruptly, eye wide.

Was he drunk? Did he really have enough wine that the stars themselves began to swivel across the skies above him? No, he was sure...

He turned to Sakura.

'_Did she poison me? Is this a plan to dull my senses? How did she manage to catch me off-guard, my nose would have—'_

"Stop staring at me with such accusation. You won't be able to look to the stars for guidance; Lady Circe is the one who made it so."

He pushed back a frown. "And what does that mean?"

"If you try to focus on them, the stars will run away from you." She sighed.

His mouth fell slightly open. Then, he leaned back against his column.

"I see."

Sakura twisted pink strands through her fingers. "That way, it's impossible to guess the location of the island. Aeaea is forever lost amidst the vastness of the sea."

He pursed his lips.

"It's made it quite difficult for me to study any astronomy," she continued.

He chuckled. "I can imagine."

Kakashi hummed. "Still, you can manage to identify maybe two constellations before they disappear from sight."

She looked doubtful.

"Here, follow my finger. What constellation do you know?"

She thought for a moment. "Andromeda."

"Andromeda, Andromeda," his eyes scanned the stars swiftly.

"Stay focused on my finger...alright...there! Did you see it?"

Sakura was smiling. "I think I did."

She turned to him. "Strange, that we both saw it together before it disappeared. I always thought the illusion cast itself individually, on each of our minds differently."

"Well, it seems to be a collective bewitchment. That is rather strange, I'll say...as if the stars know we're watching them, and when we observe them a certain way, they realize, and change their existence." His eye twinkled playfully.

"The stars having a mind of their own? That's something to think about," Sakura responded, her smile spreading wider.

They continued for a while, catching glimpses of what constellations they could, until Sakura decided it was late enough to retire to bed.

Kakashi agreed, his planned early-morning adventure in mind.

* * *

_A/N: Kakashi trying to look underneath the underneath, as usual._

_ Fun fact: I live in 'modern day' Phoenicia! A tiny Mediterranean country in the middle east. There actually is a whole hill of empty Murex shells near Sidon-crazy right? The dye needed crazy amounts of Murex to be produced, and it was sought out by many._


End file.
